Three Things to Ask Yourself When You Stumble Across a Trigger
Your body is trying to get your attention
One of the most annoying aspects of having gone through trauma therapy is knowing that there is no finish line. I know that I don’t get to a point where I’m just magically healed from everything that’s ever happened to me. As much as I’d love to say that there will come a point where there is no more discomfort to process, that would be a lie.
I’m grateful for my experience with my trauma therapist, but I still get annoyed when I trip over a trigger that I thought we’d dug up and dealt with. I want to be over it — but instead, I’m right back in the discomfort of messy emotions and physical discomfort. Thankfully, because of that very same therapy, I can ask myself the following questions to get to the bottom of my experience:
Where Am I Feeling This in My Body?
My trauma therapy experience was with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR. I know that the body and mind cannot be separated when it comes to trauma and its triggers. I recall my therapy experience and ask myself where I’m experiencing the discomfort in my body.
We all might have different answers. Sometimes, my discomfort is in the pit of my stomach. Other times, it’s…
